Rothschild & Co Redburn Cuts Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) Price Target to $400.00

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) had its price objective decreased by stock analysts at Rothschild & Co Redburn from $450.00 to $400.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,MarketScreener reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the software giant’s stock. Rothschild & Co Redburn’s price target suggests a potential downside of 4.67% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America initiated coverage on Microsoft in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $500.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Microsoft from $610.00 to $540.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. HSBC cut their target price on shares of Microsoft from $667.00 to $588.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 29th. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of Microsoft in a report on Monday, March 9th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price objective on Microsoft from $600.00 to $510.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirty-eight have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $575.34.

Microsoft Stock Performance

NASDAQ MSFT opened at $419.62 on Thursday. Microsoft has a 52-week low of $356.28 and a 52-week high of $555.45. The stock has a market cap of $3.12 trillion, a PE ratio of 26.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $392.73 and a 200-day moving average of $452.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.39.

Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 28th. The software giant reported $4.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.86 by $0.28. The business had revenue of $81.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.28 billion. Microsoft had a net margin of 39.04% and a return on equity of 32.34%. Microsoft’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Microsoft will post 16.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Microsoft news, Director John W. Stanton bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $397.35 per share, with a total value of $1,986,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 83,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $33,339,651.75. The trade was a 6.34% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen T. Hogan sold 12,321 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $409.52, for a total transaction of $5,045,695.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 137,933 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,486,322.16. The trade was a 8.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.03% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Microsoft

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MSFT. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Microsoft during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $50,664,631,000. Auto Owners Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of Microsoft by 56,160.8% in the fourth quarter. Auto Owners Insurance Co now owns 60,116,384 shares of the software giant’s stock worth $29,073,486,000 after purchasing an additional 60,009,531 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Microsoft during the first quarter valued at about $18,733,827,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in Microsoft by 500.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 59,543,261 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $30,840,432,000 after purchasing an additional 49,618,571 shares during the period. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Microsoft by 49,640.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 29,967,038 shares of the software giant’s stock valued at $14,905,904,000 after buying an additional 29,906,791 shares in the last quarter. 71.13% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

More Microsoft News

Here are the key news stories impacting Microsoft this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Large Australia AI investment strengthens cloud/AI capacity and long‑term revenue prospects — Microsoft announced a A$25B (≈$18B) commitment to expand Azure AI supercomputing, cybersecurity and skills through 2029, a big-capex bet that supports Azure demand and positions MSFT for international AI growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Anthropic’s Mythos integrated into Microsoft security workflow — placing advanced models into its Secure Development Lifecycle can reduce vulnerabilities and bolster enterprise security offerings, making Azure more attractive to risk‑sensitive customers. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Xbox price cuts aim to defend subscriber base and engagement — Game Pass reductions are a strategic move to retain/grow recurring revenue amid competitive pressure in gaming. This supports consumer‑facing unit stability even if near‑term ARPU is pressured. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Leadership change at LinkedIn — longtime COO Daniel Shapero named CEO; continuity likely, but execution matters as LinkedIn integrates more AI features. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Microsoft considered buying Cursor but did not bid — shows active M&A scanning for AI capabilities but also missed larger deal (SpaceX). Not an immediate earnings driver, but relevant to strategic positioning. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming quarter on investors’ radar — numerous previews and analyst commentary flag April 29 earnings as a potential catalyst that could re‑rate shares if Azure/AI metrics beat or disappoint. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: £2.1B ($2.8B) UK cloud‑licensing lawsuit moves forward — a large potential liability and legal overhang that could create headline risk and uncertainty around commercial licensing practices. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor skepticism about Microsoft’s AI positioning — opinion pieces questioning whether MSFT is “stumbling” in the AI race add short‑term sentiment pressure and could amplify volatility if competitors report stronger traction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and mixed institutional flows — disclosures show several insider sales and large institutional portfolio moves, which can be interpreted as profit‑taking or rebalancing ahead of earnings. Read More.

About Microsoft

Microsoft Corporation is a global technology company headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975 by Bill Gates and Paul Allen, Microsoft develops, licenses and supports a broad range of software products, services and devices for consumers, enterprises and governments worldwide. Its operations span personal computing, productivity software, cloud infrastructure, enterprise applications, developer tools and gaming.

Microsoft’s product portfolio includes the Windows operating system and the Microsoft 365 suite of productivity and collaboration tools (Office apps, Outlook, Teams).